Two women were arrested outside the state parliament of the Australian state of Victoria in Melbourne after a women’s rights rally turned violent. This comes as the #WomenWillSpeak demonstration took place outside the Parliament House on Saturday (Mar 23) afternoon.
Clashes erupt at #WomenWillSpeak rally
The #WomenWillSpeak rally was met with a counter-protest by pro-trans rights activists, reported the Australian Broadcast Company (ABC), who were separated by a large police presence.
According to the police, around 100 people were attending the rally. The Herald Sun, an Australian tabloid, said that its photographer was injured and pepper sprayed after a scuffle broke out.
The videos on social media show at least two protesters being tackled to the ground before the police used the OC spray. The Victorian police said that they have arrested two women in their 20s and are expected to be charged on summons.
Trigger warning: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Discretion is advised.
Now: Police have deployed capsicum spray and pinned trans rights activists at a protest outside parliament.
In the process, a news photographer has been pushed to the ground and been capsicum sprayed. pic.twitter.com/Gh5x7jJVUZ
— Mitch Clarke (@96mitchclarke) March 23, 2024
In a statement, on Saturday afternoon, the police said that they were “disappointed at the behaviour of many” of those who attended the rally.
Police under fire for using pepper spray
According to the police, they were forced to use pepper spray after law enforcement personnel were “confronted by hostile members of the crowd who acted out violently towards police” and members of the group attempted to breach the police line.
The police are also reviewing the footage from the rally to “identify any further offending”.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) which had sent a team of seven legal observers to the rally raised concerns about what they called “dangerous crowd control tactics” by the police, including the use of OC spray and police horses in “crowded conditions”.
“Any loss of control of a horse in crowds, even briefly, can have potentially fatal consequences,” said MALS legal observer Sam Mills, as quoted by ABC News.
“MALS has repeatedly called for any use of horses by Victoria Police at protests to be immediately prohibited.”
The organisation said that it has raised similar concerns in the past about “biased and discriminatory policing” at women’s rights events, including that which was headlined by British activist Kellie-Jay Keen or Posie Parker.
At the time, the protest was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, who performed the Sieg Heil salute on the front steps of parliament.
(With inputs from agencies)
